Taking a Chance
by hockeyforever
Summary: From the moment she met Sully, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Today is the day she finally makes her move.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Okay, so I'm fairly certain that there won't be a lot of people reading this story since the show has been off the air for several years, but I just had to write it. Third Watch was one of my favourite shows and Sully was my favourite character. I found that he was such a great and loveable guy and deserved a better woman than Tatiana (the actress who played her was great, I just didn't like that she didn't really love him). I guess I tend to route for the underdogs. Also, there aren't many Sully stories out there. Anyways, whoever does end up reading this, please let me know what you think. I've been wanting to write this for a while and finally thought "Why the heck not?" There will only be 2 chapters to this little story and I am hoping to get the next one up shortly. It will be from Sully's perspective.**

**Please assume that Tatiana was never in the picture.**

* * *

Brianna

She stood at the counter with her head at a slight angle, tilting a box of salt sideways, filling the long row of salt shakers lined up in front if her.

"You okay if I take a break?" Hazel asked, heading towards Brianna, making her jump slightly.

"Yeah, go ahead," Brianna answered, her heart still pounding from being startled, then looked around and noticed just how empty the diner was. "Take as long as you want," she added with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, not minding being left alone for a while and knowing that Hazel would probably need more than one cigarette.

"Thanks," Hazel replied and took off her apron as she headed through the swinging doors leading into the kitchen.

It was a quiet Thursday afternoon between their lunch and dinner crowds and Brianna was taking advantage of the lull in customers by tidying up and restocking items before the next rush kept her busy again. It was just her, easy listening radio and Phil in the dining area and he was looking through a newspaper at his spot behind the cash register.

A bell chimed to her left and Brianna quickly looked over towards the door of the diner, wondering how many customers she would be serving by herself now that Hazel was on break. Her heartbeat quickened and she felt herself growing warm as grains of salt tickled the fingers of her hand holding onto the shaker. She looked down at the counter and saw that she had made a mess and quickly began wiping the salt onto the floor, momentarily forgetting which shoulder to throw it over for good luck. She swallowed hard and looked up again, seeing Officer Davis smile back at her while saying something she couldn't make out. Brianna returned his smile and waited for the familiar explosion in her chest that always came after Officer Davis stepped out of the way, revealing the figure that always followed behind him.

"She wants you to come too," she overheard Davis say as he walked further into the diner and looked over his shoulder at Sully, giving her a small glimpse of him. Davis then stepped to the side, towards the booth that they usually sat at, with Sully following behind, smiling broadly. Brianna's chest erupted with a cold shock then warmth spread through her, which she still wasn't used to, despite having it happen every time she saw him. She looked down and took a deep breath before walking over to grab a few menus from under the counter. She walked over to them, trying to act like everything was fine.

"Tell her it'd be my pleasure," Sully assured Davis as he slid into the booth across from him.

"Hello again Officer Davis," she greeted, then turned to look at Sully. "Officer Sullivan," she added with a small nod and a gulp that she hoped they didn't hear.

Brianna had been working at Jack's Diner for the last two months and on her very first shift she met Officer's Ty Davis and John Sullivan, Davis and Sully as they often referred to themselves as. They were both very friendly with her and everyone else who worked there, and she felt very comfortable around them both. Sarah and Lori, who were working there later that night, both had crushes on Davis and would often snicker in the kitchen about him when he came in during their shifts. Brianna could see why they liked him so much, since he was very handsome. Friendly, outgoing, tall, athletic, nice brown eyes and a bright smile. She could see the appeal. But from the moment she met them both, her eyes had gravitated towards Sully and she was struck by how handsome he was. There was something about him that made her so excited and nervous around him at the same time and that feeling only intensified every time she saw him.

"Afternoon Brianna," Davis greeted her and took the menu that she was offering to him.

"Hi," Sully said in a husky voice, with a warm smile as he took his menu as well.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked out of habit, knowing that Davis would ask for water and Sully would order a coffee.

"Water," Davis said.

"Coffee, please," Sully asked, the same way he always did, with raised eyebrows and a smile that suggested he hoped it wasn't too much trouble.

Brianna smiled at him, catching the way that the lines across his forehead deepened and his cheeks dimpled slightly. Her smile grew wider and she nodded with a small laugh. "I'll be right back," she said then walked away, taking a deep breath while smiling on her way back to the counter.

She poured a glass of water and placed it on a tray, then carefully poured a cup of coffee with excited hands and added it to the tray as well. She then grabbed two small bowls containing packets of creamer and sugar, then placed it along side the cup of coffee. Brianna stole a quick glance to her left and watched Davis and Sully talking while looking over their menus. Sully was quite the opposite of Davis but she could tell that they worked well together and respected each other. While both of them were quite tall, Davis was fit and athletic, whereas Sully had a few extra pounds he carried on him. Davis was young, while Sully was quite a few years older. She guessed that he had to be at least 10 years older than herself, since she figured she was a few years older than Davis. Sully had beautiful, thick, black hair that was partially spiked up at the front, with a few wisps of grey peaking through around his sideburns, which was the complete opposite of Davis's clean shaven head. The one feature they had in common was the colour of their eyes. They both had striking brown eyes, but again, they were very different. Davis's were dark and captivating, but Sully's ... His were slightly lighter in colour, making them very warm and inviting. From the moment she first looked into them, Brianna could see a kindness deep within. What she also saw was a sense of sadness.

"Here you are," she almost sang as she placed their drinks onto the table.

"Thank you," Davis said slowly and closed his menu.

"So what can I get for you?"

"I'll have the B.L.T. on whole wheat, with a side salad," Davis answered, then looked over at Sully with a mischievous smile.

"Okay," Brianna said, repeating his order in her head before turning to look at Sully. "And yourself?" she asked, seeing him squint at Davis then turn to face her with what looked like a blush on his cheeks.

"I'll uh," he cleared his throat. "I'll have a cheeseburger with everything, and fries," he answered then folded up his menu and handed it to Brianna.

"Sounds good. I'll get that out as soon as it's ready," she assured them and turned towards the kitchen. She took a few steps forward then looked back with a furrowed brow, wondering why Davis had given Sully such a weird smile and why Sully looked like he was blushing. She found Davis slouched forward with his head down, laughing. Sully, meanwhile, was leaning in towards Davis with his hands on the table, scolding him in a whisper, with eyes wide open. When he leaned back, they simultaneously looked over at Brianna, who was still watching them. Davis threw his head back and barked out a laugh before beginning to chuckle silently as his shoulders bobbed up and down. Brianna noticed a worried expression on Sully's face, which he tried to hide with a smile, but she couldn't help but think he looked a little embarrassed. She did her best to ignore the odd exchange she just witnessed and continued on her way to the kitchen to place their order.

"They back again?" Hazel asked as she washed her hands after her break.

"What's that?" Brianna asked, not completely sure what she meant.

"Sully and Davis," she clarified. "They're back again, huh? What's that, third time this week?"

Brianna laughed, knowing that they usually made several appearances at the diner per week, either for lunch or dinner. "Yep," she answered simply.

"Hmmm."

"What?" Brianna asked while getting Davis's salad ready.

"You ask him out yet?" she asked, like it was no big deal.

"What? Who?" a shocked Brianna asked.

"Sully," she said, as if Brianna should have known who she meant. It was obvious to everyone who worked there that she had a big crush on him even though she tried her best to act like she didn't. She wasn't folding anyone, though. Whenever they came in, she started to blush and became clumsy. Not to mention the way she snuck glances over at him when she thought no one was looking.

With her cheeks turning red and her body growing warm, Brianna turned to Hazel quickly and shook her head. "Why would I ask out Sully?" she asked, her voice slightly higher than normal since she was trying to act like everything was fine.

"Honey, you're not foolin' anyone. We all see it," Hazel informed her bluntly. She put her apron back on and walked by Brianna, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze before walking out of the kitchen.

Brianna stood frozen in her spot, wondering if Hazel was right. She wondered if everyone she worked with knew that she liked Sully. More importantly, she wondered if Sully knew that she liked him. She took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the salad in front of her, finishing up just in time to hear Darly tell her that her order was up.

* * *

"Here you are," Brianna said as she placed Sully and Davis's orders in front of them.

"Thank you," Sully said with a smile, unfolding his napkin and draping in on his lap. Brianna smiled in response, appreciating his manners.

"Hey, Brianna, how's school going?" Davis asked with genuine interest. When she had first met them both they had asked what brought her to work at Jack's. She explained that she had just moved to New York from Syracuse and was going to be studying at NYU to become a speech therapist when the new school year began in a few months.

"Haven't actually started yet," she began, holding the empty tray flat against her stomach. "First semester doesn't start for another two weeks."

"You must be getting excited," he went on.

"Yeah I am. I'm really looking forward to it," Brianna answered, thinking about how badly she wanted to become a speech therapist after all this time.

"That's great," he almost congratulated, then looked over at Sully from the corner of his eye. "Isn't it Sully?"

Sully was just about to bite into his burger when Brianna turned to look at him. "Yeah, um, yeah that's great," he answered with a stutter.

Brianna's chest felt heavy at his reaction, feeling that he obviously couldn't care less and just wanted to get back to his lunch. "Well, I'll let you two get to your lunch. If you need anything just let me know," she told them with a smile, then walked away, biting her lip and letting go of a deep breath.

She got back to the counter and continued to fill the salt shakers that she had abandoned when Davis and Sully walked in. Brianna kept thinking about Hazel's comment in the kitchen and saw the way that she kept smirking at her while she stood over by Phil, filling napkin dispensers. Is it really that obvious? she wondered. While moving on to the next shaker, she thought about how she acted whenever the Officers came in and she waited on them. She always tried to keep her cool and not act too nervous but perhaps she wasn't as good as she thought she was at pretending she didn't find him attractive. Feeling curious, she slowly looked over towards their table, without moving her head. Davis was eating silently and looking out the window. Sully, to her surprise was looking back at her. Brianna turned her head to the left to get a better look, positive that she was imagining what she saw, and saw Sully give her a small smile before turning back to his food and adjusting his position in the booth. In disbelief she kept her gaze on him and a few seconds later he turned to look at her again then quickly turned away back to his food. Her heart began to race and she looked down to hide a smile as she wondered why he was looking at her and why he had taken a second glance in her direction.

"How's everything?" she asked a few moments later, wanting to make sure that they were enjoying their food.

"Good," Davis answered with his hand trying to cover his full mouth, making Brianna give a small laugh.

She turned to Sully who had just finished wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Really good, thank you," he said, looking back and forth between Brianna and his plate.

"Can I get you anything else or should I get your bills ready?" she asked, knowing that they were usually in a hurry when they came in to eat.

"No, I think just the bill, unless you're still hungry?" Sully asked Davis with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I'm good," Davis chocked out before taking a sip of his water.

"Okay, I'll get on those," Brianna explained then left them to finish their lunches.

She made it to the counter and grabbed her order book and a pen and began writing down their separate orders. When she got to the end of Sully's she paused and had a thought. She slowly took another glance over at him and her mouth twitched into a smile when she spotted him looking at her then quickly turned away. Worth a shot, she thought, then detached both bills from the book and laid Sully's down on the counter. She took a deep breath and began to feel nervous about the impulsive thought she had, but shook it off and went ahead with it. On the bottom of his bill she wrote down her name and phone number, suddenly feeling very aware of just how bold it was.

Before she could lose her nerve, Brianna walked over to their table and placed their bills down in from of them, respectively, thanked them for coming in then turned and made her way to the kitchen. She tried to keep herself busy in the back until Davis and Sully left, so that she wouldn't have to face Sully just yet. She was feeling a little dizzy from the stunt she just pulled and she was starting to regret it.

A ding sounded out front by the cash register and Brianna's heart jumped for a second, realizing that by now Sully must have seen what she wrote on his bill. The ding repeated itself and Brianna furrowed her brown, sneaking a look into the diner. Phil wasn't sitting behind the register and Hazel wasn't around either.

"Better get out there," Daryl called out to her from the walk in refrigerator.

"Where are Phil and Hazel?" she panicked.

"Out back I think," Daryl answered.

Brianna felt herself getting cold at the idea of having to face Sully just then. She had been sure that since Phil worked the register, she wouldn't have to face Sully until the next time he came in, giving herself a chance to first freak out then calm down over giving him her number.

"Uh, hello?" she heard Sully's raspy voice call out.

She placed her hands on the kitchen doors and scrunched up her face before taking a deep breath and letting it out. She pushed her way through the door with a smile, but didn't look at them just yet.

"Sorry, Phil is out back somewhere. I can ring you up," Brianna said, making her way to the register.

Davis handed his bill over first and Brianna punched in his order, giving him his total and accepting his money. He told her to keep the change and she smiled, appreciating his generosity.

"Did you need your receipt?" she asked while still holding onto his bill.

"No thanks," he answered, then stepped back towards the door and she speared the paper down onto the receipt holder.

Brianna then heard her heart beat pounding in her ears when she looked up at Sully. She took his bill and punched in his order, feeling like her name and number at the bottom had grown in size on the paper. She told him his total and couldn't look at him when he handed over his money.

"Keep the change," he said, causing Brianna to look up quickly at him then back to the register with a smile.

"Did you need your receipt?" she asked, noticing that it felt heavy in her hands. She swallowed hard and nervously waited for his answer, wondering if he would want to keep her number.

"No, I don't need it," he answered her.

Her heart plummeted at his response and she couldn't dare to raise her eyes towards him, knowing that her disappointment and hurt was written all over her face.

"Okay," she practically whispered, then lowered the receipt down onto the receipt holder.

"Have a nice day," she overheard Davis call out as they made their way outside. With a heavy chest, she took the opportunity to look over at the door and saw Davis turn to give Sully a big smile and a small punch on the arm. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life.

* * *

At seven o'clock, after her shift ended, Brianna made her way home, feeling completely exhausted after spending the rest of the day acting like nothing had happened and she hadn't just been shot down by a man she had liked for so long. She got home and kicked off her shoes, planning on taking a shower and heading to bed early. She picked up her phone to see if she had any messages and punched in her password when a beep notified her that she had several. As her first message began, Brianna froze.

**Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: Okay, it took me longer than I thought to update, but phew, it's done. Thank you for the great reviews so far and thank you for reading this little story. I hope you like it!**

* * *

Sully

"Jack's again huh?" Davis asked with a sly smile as he stepped out of the passenger side of 55 Charlie.

"Yeah. Why? I thought you liked it here," Sully asked gruffly as he slammed his own door.

"Oh, I like it here," Davis started, looking over at Sully. "Just not as much as you do," he added with a playful smirk.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sully asked, suddenly feeling self conscious, adjusting his duty belt.

Davis just laughed instead of answering, not wanting to get into it with Sully. They made their way to the door and Sully took a glance inside, seeing that there weren't any customers. He looked at the counter and saw Brianna standing there, working on something in front of her. Sully smiled at the sight of her then hardened his face, pulling his mouth into a scowl as he looked away, not wanting to let Davis see his reaction.

Davis reached the door to the diner ahead of Sully and lifted his hand to push it open. "So my moms cooking dinner on Sunday," he said as he walked through the door, noticing Brianna look up as he entered. He smiled at her and she gave him a small smile in return. He turned his head slightly to look back at Sully. "She wants you to come too," he added.

A step behind him, Sully peered over Davis's shoulder focusing on the counter where Brianna stood. He took in a sharp, quick breath and noticed a small burst rippling through his chest when he saw her. He turned his attention back to Davis, this time not worrying about hiding his smile, and followed him to the right as he lead the way towards their usual booth, which was close to the entrance of the diner and had a good view of their car.

"Tell her it'd be my pleasure," he replied honestly as he slid into the booth across from Davis and noticed Brianna approaching them from the corner of his eye. He braced himself and tried to act normal.

"Hello again Officer Davis," Brianna greeted, then turned to look at him. "Officer Sullivan," she added with a small nod. His heart pounded hard in his chest at her greeting and he couldn't stop the sudden breath he took in along with the quick grin that crept onto his lips.

"Afternoon, Brianna," Davis said across from him while Sully sat watching her.

"Hi," was all he was able to muster before accepting the menu she held out to him with a smile. He worried that his anxiousness was obvious and looked over the menu in an attempt to keep himself occupied.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she offered, looking back over at Davis. Sully took in Brianna's profile while her attention was on Davis, and noticed her eyes, which still captivated him ever since their first meeting. It had been almost two months since he had first met Brianna and Sully was sure that it was obvious to Davis that he liked her. They had been eating at Jack's at least twice during their set of shifts, but Sully couldn't help it. He kept suggesting Jack's whenever Davis asked where he wanted to eat, knowing that there was a good chance that Brianna would be working.

"Coffee please," he answered timidly, snapping out of his mini trance when she looked over at him, hoping that he hadn't taken too long to answer her. Brianna gave him a small smile and told them that she would be right back. Sully watched her walk away, wondering if he imagined it or if she really did smile at him nervously. When he turned back to his menu he noticed the expression on Davis's face.

"What?" Sully asked defensively, feeling pretty certain that Davis had just caught him staring at Brianna.

His upturned eyebrows and crooked smile, paired with his tilted head made Sully brace himself for Davis's next comment.

"You gonna ask her out or what?" Davis finally asked with a mixture of amusement and impatience.

Sully stiffened and twitched his upper lip in an attempt to look indifferent. "What are you talking about?"

"Sully, we used to come to Jack's, what, once a month? Then Brianna," he looked over to see if she was within earshot then leaned in and continued quietly when he saw her at the counter. "... starts working here and we start coming in several times a week," he finished with a knowing smile.

"So?" he asked gruffly, not bothering to look up from the blank spot on his menu that he was pretending to read.

"You should ask her out before it's too late," Davis said quickly and leaned back when he saw Brianna approaching with their drinks.

As she placed their drinks in front of them, Sully wondered what exactly Davis meant by his comment but he had a pretty good idea what he was trying to say. Brianna was beautiful. And smart. Kind and funny. And he knew that pretty soon either someone else would realize this and ask her out, or she wouldn't be working at Jack's much longer once she started school.

"So what can I get for you?" Brianna asked.

Sully quickly looked over his menu while Davis ordered since he hadn't been thinking at all about his lunch. He looked up at his partner when he heard him stop talking and was taken aback when he saw a mischievous smile on his face.

"I'll uh," he cleared his throat, trying to gain his composure and hoping that Brianna hadn't noticed the look he just got from Davis. "I'll have a cheeseburger with everything, and fries," he answered, thinking of the first thing that came to mind, then folded up his menu and handed it to her.

"Sounds good. I'll get that out as soon as it's ready," she told them, then made her way to the kitchen.

Sully leaned forward and anchored his hands to the table, feeling the need to set Davis straight when he saw him looking down and laughing at his discomfort.

"What are you doing Davis? She's gonna realize we're talking about her," he whispered harshly, trying to get his point across. Sully leaned back and looked over at Brianna, with Davis following his lead, and saw her staring back at them from the entrance to the kitchen. She had a concerned look on her face. Hearing Davis laugh out loud, Sully stared back at Brianna and gave his best attempt at a relaxed smile, trying to play off Davis's outburst as a reaction to something he had just said. Sully wasn't fooling himself though, and he knew that he looked uncomfortable.

"Davis!" Sully grunted through clenched teeth with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry man, I can't help myself. It's just too easy to get you going," Davis said while still laughing slightly. "Look, I know you're nervous, but you really should ask her out," he added honestly, knowing how much he liked Brianna.

"There's no point," he answered quietly. Sully looked up and saw the confused look on Davis's face and, not being one to talk about his feelings, he decided to be quick and to the point, hoping to end this topic of conversation. "She wouldn't be interested. Just drop it," he said, then grabbed his cup of coffee and began to add his cream and sugar.

Davis didn't know it, but Sully had been considering asking Brianna out for some time now, but never knew how to go about doing it. Whenever he thought he had worked up the courage to do it, self doubt crept in and he lost his confidence. Who are you kidding? he told himself when he wondered if she could be interested in him. He knew that she was way out of his league, in several different areas.

While stirring his coffee, Sully thought about the first time that he saw Brianna. He and Davis had just stumbled into the diner, trying to get out of the cold rain, and were greeted by a small laugh coming from their right hand side. He looked over and saw her smiling brightly at them and sympathetically asked if they needed some coffee. At once, he was shocked at how pretty she was and felt his stomach drop when she smiled at them. Her eyes, he first thought, were brown and piercing, but when she came to their table to take their order, he saw that they were actually a dark blue, almost the same dark blue of the sky just before sunrise. The unusual colour of her eyes was complimented by her hair, which was a soft, light brown with flex of red and blonde hidden throughout. The memory made him smile and caused an ache in his chest at the same time. He shook his head slightly and looked down into his coffee with just a touch of cream, taking notice of the light brown colour. He let out a small scoff when he realized what it reminded him of.

"Look, maybe I can help you out," Sully heard across from him and looked up to find Davis looking at him sincerely.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "Thanks, but no," he added, feeling slightly annoyed at Davis for not letting it go.

"You sure? I mean, I could," he paused, looking around the table. "I don't know, I could talk you up. Maybe bring up..."

"No."

Davis looked at Sully and knew that he should drop it.

"Okay. But Sully," he stopped and watched Sully slowly look up at him. "You're a good guy, man. You deserve a nice girl like her," he finished, then looked out the window.

* * *

"Here you are," Brianna said as she placed their orders in front of them.

"Thank you," Sully said with a smile, as he placed a napkin onto his lap. He noticed the way she smiled back at him and realized how much he liked her smile. Whenever they were there, he could always count on seeing a smile on her face.

"Hey, Brianna, how's school going?" Davis asked, reminding Sully that she would probably be leaving Jack's pretty soon.

"Haven't actually started yet," she began, then moved her tray to rest against her stomach. "First semester doesn't start for another two weeks."

Sully remembered how, when they first met her, she had told them that she moved to New York to become a speech therapist and was impressed by her intelligence and determination. Brianna was going back to school as a mature student, guessing that she was in her early thirties, and he respected that she was pursuing a career that she had wanted for so long.

"That's great," Davis congratulated, then paused. "Isn't it Sully?"

He looked up at Brianna just as he was about to take a bite of his burger and saw the look of expectation in her eyes. "Yeah, um, yeah that's great," he managed to say with a stutter. He looked back at Davis and wanted to yell at him for putting him on the spot.

"Well, I'll let you two get to your lunch. If you need anything just let me know," he heard Brianna say before she walked away.

"Davis, drop it," Sully warned, then got back to his lunch.

A few minutes later, while trying to ignore the new basketball league Davis was going on about, Sully looked over towards the counter at Brianna. She was patiently refilling salt shakers and had a preoccupied look on her face. He caught her looking over towards the cash register at the other waitress at Jack's, Hazel, he thought, then back down at the counter. Sully felt guilty for staring at her but he couldn't seem to stop himself. She had her hair up today in a simple ponytail, which drew attention to her long neck. He thought back to the day he had seen her at a grocery store from a distance. He didn't dare go and speak to her, but he watched her for a moment with a smile as she went about picking out produce. Her hair was down, which he wasn't used to seeing since it was always up in some variation when she worked, and he noticed how flattering it was on her. It barely grazed the top of her shoulders and the slight layers in front framed her face perfectly.

While absentminded, Sully wasn't quick enough to turn away when he saw Brianna glance over towards their table. He was sure that she spotted him looking at her and when she looked away then quickly looked back, he gave her a small smile, hoping that it came off as a polite hello before looking away and adjusting his position in the booth. Feeling a rush of nervousness run through him, Sully tried to discreetly look back at Brianna to see if she was still watching him. She was. He turned his head quickly and focused on his lunch again, hoping that he hadn't made her feel too uncomfortable.

"How's everything?" Brianna asked them.

"Good," Davis mumbled with his mouth full, making Sully smile.

He looked up and saw Brianna turn her attention to him to hear his reply. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and gave her a small nod. "Really good, thank you," he offered.

"Can I get you anything else or should I get your bills ready?" she asked him.

"No, I think just the bill, unless you're still hungry?" Sully looked over at Davis who was just about to take a drink of water.

"No, I'm good," he said, leaving Brianna to smile and tell them that she would be back with their bills.

Sully and Davis picked at the last of their meals as Brianna came back to their table with their bills. Sully looked up and greeted her with a smile as she placed his bill in front of him and thought that she was moving very quickly and looked nervous for some reason. She seemed to blink a lot and couldn't make direct eye contact with him, which wasn't like her. When she walked away quickly and headed into the kitchen, Sully picked up the piece of paper in front of him and flipped it over. His heart leapt into his throat when his eyes reached the bottom of his bill. Underneath the total for his meal, in smaller printing, was Brianna's name and phone number. He smiled when he saw it and felt his cheeks growing warm.

"What is it?" Davis asked, surprising him for a moment.

Sully looked up and straightened his face. "Nothing. Nothing," he repeated, while still blushing.

"What is it?" Davis asked again, this time quickly reaching out and snatching the paper from Sully.

Sully tried his best to get it back from Davis without making a scene but wasn't successful.

"She gave you her number?!" Davis half questioned and exclaimed in a loud whisper. His eyes were wide and he had a big grin on his face, letting Sully know that he felt happy for him.

"Give it back," Sully simply stated, stretching his hand out to Davis, who handed him the bill. He looked down at it again and saw where Bianna had written her number, making sure he hadn't imagined it. He sat quietly staring at it for a few seconds, lost in thought. Sully couldn't believe that she had done that and he felt incredibly happy, seeing as how he thought he didn't have any sort of chance with her.

Sully looked up at Davis, who was smiling back at him, and offered a smile in return, knowing that his partner was happy for him. He then reached inside his pant pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Not wanting to take a chance of losing her number, Sully decided to add her to his contact list.

When he finished, he put his phone back into his pocket and looked up at Davis. "Ready to go?" he happily asked.

"Yep," Davis simply answered.

They stood up and walked to the empty register where Phil usually rang their order through, but didn't see him anywhere. Sully looked around the diner and found no one but himself and Davis. He looked at Davis, who shrugged his shoulders in uncertainty, then looked back at the register, noticing a small bell on the counter. He reached out and rang the bell once. They stood waiting for someone to come out of the kitchen but no one came. Again, Sully rang the bell, this time speaking up as well.

"Uh, hello?" he asked to no one in particular.

Seconds later he heard the kitchen door swing open and saw Brianna emerge with her head down. Sully smiled, not expecting to see her again, and stepped aside to let Davis pay first.

"Sorry, Phil is out back somewhere. I can ring you up," Brianna apologized when she got to the register.

Sully watched how Brianna timidly ran Davis's order through and smiled at how nervous she looked. Her cheeks were pink and she kept licking her lips while taking quick glances between Davis and the register. Sully noticed that she hadn't looked at him at all yet and knew that she must be feeling a little embarrassed at having to ring them through after giving him her number. He would probably be reacting the same way if it were him who made the first move, and seeing her act this way made him feel very flattered.

When Davis stepped aside and put his wallet back into his pocket, he looked at Sully from the corner of his eye and gave him a quick smile.

Sully stepped up to the register and handed his bill over to Brianna, with a smile slowly growing on his face that he couldn't seem to control. He watched her type in the numbers on the touch screen and waited for her to look up at him again. She didn't right away. Instead she kept her attention on the register while telling him his total and didn't look up at him when she took his money.

"Keep the change," Sully said, causing Brianna to finally look up at him, revealing her beautiful blue eyes that were at first wide with embarrassment but seemed to relax a little and she gave a quick smile.

"Did you need your receipt?" she asked, while looking down at the paper in her hand.

Sully smiled and knew that her number was safely tucked away in his contact list. "No, I don't need it," he said, then started to back away from the register.

He noticed that she didn't look up again before they left, and speared his receipt down onto the holder like she did with Davis's.

"Okay," he heard her say softly.

"Have a nice day," Davis called out in front of him before walking out the door.

Before walking outside himself, Sully took one last glance at Brianna and took in a deep breath. He still couldn't believe that she had given him her number and suddenly felt nervous as he thought about what he was going to say when he called her later that night.

"You're feelin' pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?" Davis playfully asked while punching Sully softly on the shoulder.

"Let's just get back to work, Davis," Sully answered, resisting the urge to tell him just how thrilled he was.

* * *

After spending the next few hours of his shift thinking about Brianna and wondering what to say to her when he called, he took out his cell phone when they had pulled over to meet Faith and Bosco for dinner.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be right in," he heard himself rasp before clearing his throat.

"What are you doin'?" Bosco skeptically called out over is shoulder.

"Come on, I'll fill you in," Davis cut in before Sully could answer. He walked forward and ushered Bosco and Faith into the restaurant, leaving Sully alone.

"Okay," Sully slowly said to himself as he looked through his contact list. He pressed her number and heard it begin to ring. He still wasn't sure of what exactly he was going to say to Brianna but he was looking forward to speaking with her again.

After three rings the other line picked up, causing Sully's throat to feel tight.

"Hi, this is Brianna. Please leave a message," he heard on the other end. His eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting to leave a message and his mind suddenly drew a blank. The beep on the other end made his heart pound suddenly.

"Hi Brianna, it's, uh, Sully, John, um..." he paused for a moment to try to compose himself before going on. "I was calling to see if you'd like to maybe have dinner sometime, or a drink, or coffee. Or anything really," he said, almost with a chuckle. He cleared his throat before continuing, hoping to sound a little less nervous. "If you're interested, just give me a call and we can figure out a day and time," he went on, then rhymed off his phone number. "It was great to see you again today, Brianna, and I hope to see you soon. Bye."

Sully pulled the phone away from his ear and turned it off, hoping that he a hadn't sounded too forward or desperate. His heart was still racing from leaving the message but felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He had been worrying about what to say when he called her and now it was done. He got out of the car and made his way to the entrance of the restaurant and realized that now he would be worrying about whether or not Brianna would call him back.

"Crap," he quietly said to himself as he opened the door and stepped inside.


End file.
